A humor parenting blog with a focus on family travel and great things to do with kids in New York and New Jersey.

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

July 4th Craft with Kids: Make an American Flag!

If you're looking for an easy and fun July 4th craft to do with the kids, make an American flag!

We did this for Flag Day, and it was a big hit with my kids, and with me, since it's pretty easy and not too messy. It's also perfect for July 4th - just swap "Happy Flag Day"" for the July 4th greeting of your choice.

Here's how to make an American Flag using dried beans:

1. Buy dried beans in red, white and blue. You'll have a few choices of varieties, any will work. Pictured here, we used kidney beans for red, black beans for blue, and northern beans for white.

2. Make sure you have sturdy construction paper and a strong-ish glue - any craft glue will work fine.

3. Trace out the flag using a pencil, so you'll know where to glue the beans. You can also print out a flag - this is especially good if you're doing this craft project with younger kids.

4. Put down thirteen stripes of glue that will become the red and white stripes of the flag - or less if your kids aren't sticklers on flag accuracy. Add alternating lines of red and white beans, starting and ending with red. Make the first four lines not go all the way across to the left, as that area will become the blue background and white stars section of the flag.

5. Last, add the blue background and white "stars" by alternating blue and white beans in each row. For accuracy, you'll need 50 white bean stars, but my guess is you'll end up with less. Don't worry, your dried bean flag will still be a thing of patriotic beauty.

6. Let the glue dry completely and then display your July 4th masterpiece for all to enjoy!